Author Topic: Forum Guidelines (Please Read)  (Read 10876 times)

Dave

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Forum Guidelines (Please Read)
« on: April 07, 2011, 10:30:00 AM »
Welcome to the Michael Teachings Forum!

First and foremost, this is a Michael teachings study group. The goal of this forum is to be as ON-TOPIC as possible. In other words, if your post is not related to the Michael teachings and the specific board you posted on, it will either be moved to a more appropriate board, or removed altogether. This forum is a place to ask questions and learn. It is not for idle discussion or off-topic banter. Everything here should be related to the Michael teachings, with the exception of the "General Discussion" board.

DISCUSS the teachings. Don't just post links to other sites

We would like this group to be a place where you roll up your sleeves and thoroughly DISCUSS a topic rather than redirect our members to an article on another site. The focus of the MT forum should be about the concepts, not the channels. There will always be enthusiastic students that want to promote a particular channel or favorite site, but the experiment of this forum is to be as concept-based as possible and avoid promotional posts.

This forum is also a no-spam zone, so please take that to heart as you read the following guidelines. 

  • Please "Be Polite." There is little tolerance for rudeness on this forum. Members who are intentionally disruptive may be banned without warning. If ever in doubt, "remember the human." It is okay to disagree, of course, but posts that are negative and discourteous -- or clearly designed to incite -- will promptly be removed.
     
  • Be open minded. Honor others for their differences and keep an open mind to all opinions, religions, and spiritual practices that are addressed here.
     
  • Do not SPAM our members. Do not contact anyone to suggest your product or service, or promote other forums, discussion lists, or social media sites. You may not post any message that is commercial by nature. A commercial domain is defined as a site that receives any type of income or links to any income producing properties. A post with even a hint of advertising may be subject to removal. For this reason, since signature files are often a spam vehicle, please do not post them on this forum.
     
  • Watch those links. Because spammers take advantage of loopholes in forum guidelines that involve promotion, please do not promote other sites, blogs, or forums. We want to set the example that this forum is a place for discussion, not promotion. We occasionally post links to pages on this site (michaelteachings.com) to offer further assistance, but overall this is a forum that's intended for discussion only, not a place that whirls our visitors off to other destinations in cyber space. There are better venues for promotion, such as bookmark sites, newsletters, or your own site. If you must share a passage from an article somewhere, please post the material to the forum as an excerpt. But do not include promotional links.
     
  • If your user name is the same as your URL or company name, you may be asked to use a personal name.
     
  • You may not direct others to contact you. That is a common ploy used by spammers.
     
  • Be a big fuse person. Don't earn the reputation of being "Mr. Meltdown" when people disagree with your opinions. There will always be members of the community who will criticize you, and sometimes they may be right. Accept this fact with grace and maturity, and use it as a way to model the standard of tolerance you want everyone in your community to adhere to.
     
  • Learn to paraphrase anything that seems ambiguous. If you're not exactly sure what someone means (or if you just want to verify your own suspicions), simply write back to the person what was said using your own words. This allows the person you're communicating with to verify their thoughts, or make corrections to the initial message. It's really as simple as saying, "Oh, so what you're saying is..."...or...."So essentially how you felt was.."...or....."Did you mean to say.....?" If further explanation is needed, it's always helpful to simply ASK questions. Ask, ask, askā€¦.
     
  • You may not solicit users for any project or purpose external to the forum; public, private, or commercial. Most importantly, our member base is not a resource to be "mined" by individuals, groups, or businesses, for profit or not for profit.
     
  • Please don't argue forum policy on the boards. That just clogs up any on-going discussion and it's off-topic. If you have an issue with the rules, contact me privately. If you need help with something, post that on the Help board.

Apologies if the above passage seems stern, but spam is a constant nemesis on discussion forums and without strict guidelines a forum can fall prey to the unscrupulous few who choose to abuse the privileges they were given.

Overall it is hoped that this forum serves as a useful resource in your continuing Michael teachings studies. My goal for this forum is to draw out the personal experiences and knowledge of our members and not rely so much on links to articles or what can be found on Google. I want to read what YOU have to say on a topic. Posted links that go outside this site are often dead in a year and that doesn't serve the new members that join this forum in the future. This is your study group. Make the most of it.

Thank you in advance for adding your shining light and uniqueness to this forum.

Dave :)
« Last Edit: June 22, 2011, 10:13:24 PM by Dave »